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Tags: Airport News / Airports / Berlin Travel / Germany Travel / BER / → All Tags

Berlin Says 'Auf Wiedersehen' to Its Airports In Favor of Newer, Cooler One

MMmm...new airport. Do you know that Berlin has three airports? You're most likely to fly into Tegel, or Schoenefeld if you're on a low-cost European airline, and their modernist Tempelhof one is now just an event space. But come October 2011, a fourth airport will be added into the mix: Berlin-Brandenburg International (BER).

BER is currently under construction, but helping it to move along quickly is the fact that it'll use some of Schoenefeld's infrastructure (it's basically a new airport next to Schoenefeld). Additionally, Tegel Airport wants to close by 2012. Although BER will serve as the main airport in Berlin from its opening, it will only end up with two runways at its completion (one of the runways will be an existing one of Schoenefeld's). It'll only have ten boarding gates, but at least one will be equipped to handle the hot new airplane in town: the Airbus A380. BER seeks to battle it out with Munich airport for the title of Germany's second-best airport, after the behemoth that is Frankfurt am Main International.

A video, after the jump

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Tags: Flash Mobs / Crowds / Berlin Travel / Historical Travel / Events / → All Tags

Join 33,000 Others To Recreate The Fall Of The Berlin Wall On Its 20th Anniversary

Here at Jaunted, we love us some flash mobs and all of the fun and city exploration that come with them. But this upcoming Monday, November 9 in Berlin, a flash mob will take on a somber note as up to 33,000 people gather to recreate the Berlin Wall on the 20th anniversary of the night it came down.

The "Mauer Mob"—know that "mauer" means "wall" in German— will happen at approximately 8:15pm on Monday, lasting for about 15 minutes so that visitors, Berliners, and even those who were there for the original tearing down of the wall can commemorate the date and capture photos of the scene. Already almost 6,000 people have registered to participate on the event's official site, and if you're in the vicinity, you should not miss this opportunity.

For tips on what to see and what to skip while you're not becoming part of a human Berlin wall in the city, be sure to check out our Berlin Field Trip series.

Related Stories:
· Temporarily Recreating The Berlin Wall [Kottke]
· Mauer Mob [Official Site]
· Walk The Path Of The Berlin Wall And Crash Into A Starbucks [Jaunted]
· Berlin coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted]

Tags: Daytrippin' / Frankfurt Travel / Germany Travel / Layovers / → All Tags

There's More To Frankfurt Than Just A Layover

All this week Eric Rosen has been giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

Thanks to its huge international airport at the hub of Europe’s domestic air market, not to mention airfares from the U.S. that are cheaper (usually by hundreds of dollars) than to nearby capitals like Berlin and Paris and London, Frankfurt is usually no more than a way-station for in-transit travelers. But next time you’re scheduled through there, think about spending a couple of days exploring Germany’s banking city. You just might be surprised at how much there is to see and do there.

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Tags: Daytrippin' / Frankfurt Travel / Wine-Tasting Travel / → All Tags

World-Class Wine-Tasting An Hour From Frankfurt in Ruedesheim

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

Judging from the mini-skyscrapers and hordes of bankers crowding its streets, you might not realize that Frankfurt is located right at the edge of one of Germany’s most famous wine regions, the Rheingau. At the heart of this little region crowded on the banks of the mighty Rhine, lies the tiny hamlet of Rüdesheim, which is just a quick trip from Frankfurt by car or on the train.

To get there, simply hop on one of the commuter trains that depart every half-hour or so from Frankfurt’s main train station, though be sure to check the schedule beforehand because some trains take an hour, and some trains take over two hours! Another option is to rent a car and drive the 45 minutes or so from the city. It makes for a picturesque journey and might be the better way to go if you want to get out into the countryside a little bit, or venture farther afield along the so-called “Romantic Road” of castles and vineyards along the Rhine.

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Tags: Daytrippin' / Frankfurt Travel / Germany Travel / Gutenberg Printing Press / → All Tags

Just Upriver From Frankfurt: Yours, Mainz and Ours

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

When you fly into the Frankfurt airport, you’ll discover that the full name of it is actually the Frankfurt am Main Airport because Frankfurt is on the Main River. So, in fact, is the city of Mainz, as you may guess from the name. Before we get into the details of why you should visit the colorfully restored old town of this once powerful medieval city, we’re also going to give you a German pronunciation lesson.

You pronounce the city like the word "mines" in English, not "mains" like water main. Now that you know how to say it, here’s what you should see.

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Tags: Daytrippin' / Frankfurt Travel / Germany Travel / Jewish Travel / → All Tags

Crawling Around Worms, Germany

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

We’re not talking about the creepy crawlers that make your garden grow, we’re talking about the magnificent medieval city situated on the Rhine River about an hour south of Frankfurt. Worms was a bustling river port, crucible of the Reformation, home to one of the oldest Jewish populations in Europe, and setting of the epic German poem (and Wagner opera cycle) the Niebelungenlied. It also happens to make an excellent daytrip from Frankfurt since several trains depart for Worms from Frankfurt every hour, and cost about 11 euros for the hour-long trip.

Though much of the city was destroyed in World War II due to its position as a trading city on the Rhine, the medieval center has been carefully reconstructed in many places, and there are still plenty of sights to see. However, the city outside the Altstadt, or old town, is pretty industrialized, so stick to the center.

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Tags: Daytrippin' / Frankfurt Travel / Germany Travel / The Rhine / → All Tags

The Rhine, The Wine and All That's Fine Near Frankfurt

All this week Eric Rosen will be giving us ideas for some different day trips that you can take from Frankfurt. Any questions or suggestions? Let us know!

You might not have heard of the jewel-box town of Bernkastel-Kues, nestled on the banks of Germany’s Mosel River, but as home to some of the world’s most famous Riesling producers, it is one of the most visited wine destinations in Europe.

A Ride on the Autobahn:
To get there, you can take a two-hour train ride from Frankfurt to the town of Wittlich, about 13 miles away and hop on a bus from there…or you could just be lazy and rent a car at the Frankfurt airport and make the two-hour drive on the autobahn yourself. We’d suggest the latter, but just be sure to rent a car that’s on the small side since the cobbled streets in town are unbelievably narrow.

History Dork-Out:
The town derives its hyphenated name from the fact that it is actually two towns: Bernkastel and Kues. Bernkastel, which actually means “Bear Castle” thanks to a few folkloric legends, has been inhabited since before Roman times (even back then, they were making wine), and has all the picturesque trappings you could want, including a ruined castle that was once the seat of the powerful archbishops of Trier, half-timbered houses colorfully painted with pagan symbols to ward off goblins and witches, a sculpture of bears playing in a fountain, and even a building in the main square whose façade transforms into an Advent Calendar in December. Quaint!

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Tags: Ostalgia / Cold War Travel / History Travel / Communism / → All Tags

Tour the Secret Escape Tunnels Under the Berlin Wall

East Germany must have been a really nasty place to live, because so many people risked their lives to escape to the west. A creepy tour in Berlin provides a stark reminder of the lengths people will go for freedom, with walks through some of the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall. An interesting AP story points out that about 300 people managed to escape through various tunnels in the years after the wall was built in 1961, with many continuing to work from the west to free family members.

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Tags: Naked Travel / Nude Travel / Active Travel / Hiking / Nature / Germany Travel / → All Tags

German Naturists Pretty Psyched About New Nude Hiking Trail

It seems like we're doing a naked travel or nude hiking post every few weeks now, with today's story courtesy of the 11 mile naturist hiking trail opening up in Germany. The eagerly anticipated path goes from Dankerode to the Wippertal dam along the Harz mountain range in central Germany.

Apparently enthusiasts have been lighting up naturist chat rooms over it for months. The Reuters writeup was very specific on this: "Naturist chat rooms."

So scientists believe we started wearing clothes some time between 100,000 and 500,000 years ago. Do you know why our grunting ancestors decided to cover themselves with animal pelts? Because they realized that dirt is dirty. It must have been a radical insight at the time—"hey, all this sticky stuff doesn't get on my skin if I cover myself, and I even feel warmer"—but nevertheless they were able to apply their chimp-like analytical skills to the problem and crack that nut. Not so much with these hippies.

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Tags: Sausages / Food / Food Vendors / Fast Food / Food Trends / → All Tags

It's War of the Wursts in Berlin as Grillwalkers Battle Imitators

Back in 1997, an unemployed former hotel manager named Bertram Rohloff had a brilliant idea. Unable to obtain the necessary permits to open an outdoor sandwich stand, he found a way to circumvent the entire bureaucracy and wound up making portable food vending history. He invented a wearable propane sausage grill that requires no special permit, as neither the grill nor the food ever touches the ground. Thus, Grillwalker was born, a sausage oven with legs that can bring hot sausages to the hungry masses at some of Berlin's most heavily-trafficked urban spaces. As The New York Times points out, Rohloff's 15 sausage walkers are now fixtures at such sites as the Alexanderplatz, bustling Friedrichstrasse train station, and even outside popular nightclubs.

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Tags: Most-Shocking-Starbucks-Locations / Starbucks / Fast Food Travel / Coffee Travel / Berlin Travel / → All Tags

Walk The Path Of The Berlin Wall And Crash Into A Starbucks

Fresh from our Most Shocking McDonald's Locations and Must-See Apple Stores Of The World series, we're taking requests for Subways as we begin our Most Shocking Starbucks Locations. Know of a 'Bucks randomly tucked into a curious corner of the world? This is going to be a running series, so email us your suggestions!

So let's say that you're enjoying a lovely evening out for a stroll in Berlin, Germany and you're perhaps following a brick path in the street that marks the former location of the Berlin Wall. You're walking along, eyes down at the ground as you ponder the history around Potsdamer Platz especially, when you run right into the side of a Starbucks.

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Tags: Germany / Germany Travel / Retirement Travel / Travel News / → All Tags

You've Heard of the Staycation, But What About the 'Greycation?'

You've no doubt heard of the "staycation," but "greycation" might be a new term to familiarize yourself with, especially if you belong to the silver-haired faction of jetsetters. While the travel industry often takes great pains to appeal to younger demographics, what with the influx of advertisements for debauched Spring Break getaways and MTV branded guides, those 50 and over crave the same kind of exploration that their younger cohorts do.

And where do these baby boomers choose to spend their hard-earned cash, or, in some cases, retirement fund savings? Today, Club Med and timeshares don't mark the height of senior citizen travel. According to a recent report by Reuters, culture-hungry greycationers are enamored with Germany, a country that is not only attracting many an international visitor these days, but whose older citizens are stimulating the national by booking holidays and supporting local businesses in the process. Says Reuters:

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